Nehemiah 2:2-3

2:2 So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.

2:3 I replied to the king, “O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors 1  lies desolate and its gates destroyed 2  by fire?”

Nehemiah 6:3

6:3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in 3  an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?”

Nehemiah 13:21

13:21 But I warned them and said, 4  “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” 5  From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. 6 

1 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 5).

2 tn Heb “devoured” or “eaten” (so also in Neh 2:13).

3 tn Heb “[am] doing.”

4 tn The Hebrew text includes the words “to them,” but they have been excluded from the translation for stylistic reasons.

5 tn Heb “I will send a hand on you.”

6 sn This statement contains a great deal of restrained humor. The author clearly takes pleasure in the effectiveness of the measures that he had enacted.